Launch monitors are great tools – but they can be complicated to learn how to use.
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Welcome to Play Smarta regular GOLF.com game improvement column that will help you become a smarter and better golfer.
One of the most useful pieces of technology in golf is the launch monitor. It can give you instant data on your swing as you practice and makes diagnosing swing faults much easier than just digging around in the dirt.
Walk into any practice facility at a professional event and you’ll see almost every golfer practicing with a launch monitor next to them. Technology has become so present at the top level of the game that it’s strange when you meet a professional NO relying on one during their practice sessions.
If you have ever used one launch monitor, you’ve likely experienced a bit of information overload. After each shot, the machine spits out dozens of numbers associated with different moves in your move. If you don’t know what to look for—or how to interpret the data—it can be difficult to decipher.
Fortunately, once you know what to look for, these numbers start to make a ton of sense—and knowing how to manipulate them makes swinging changes a lot easier. Watch the video below for a quick tutorial from GOLF Top 100 Teacher Jonathan Yarwood on the easiest way to use a release monitor.
The easy way to use a release monitor
Launch monitors can give you dozens of detailed numbers on your movement, but when you’re just starting to use one, it’s wise to start small. When Yarwood teaches his students who are just starting to use a release monitor, he advises focusing on three key numbers.
Club road
The first key number to focus on is the club path. This number tells us the direction your club is moving as you swing through and also how far off the line it is.
A perfectly square swing will have a club path reading of 0, but anything within a few degrees on either side is fine. For swings that are more in-to-out (for righties), the number will be positive, while out-to-in swings will be negative.
Keep an eye on the club’s path number to understand which direction your club is moving through the impact zone. Once you figure out what your typical range is, you can try making changes to the swing and see how it manipulates your club path numbers.
The angle of the face
Another key number is face angle, which tells us the angle of your face at impact. If your clubface is closed (like the right arm), this number will be negative, while if it is open, it will be positive.
Face angle is important because it tells us what the club face looks like at impact. This, in conjunction with the path of the club, will determine the shape of the shot.
Angle of attack
The last key number Yarwood suggests paying attention to is angle of attack. This tells us how steep or shallow the clubhead is working as you make contact with the ball.
An angle of attack that is down will be negative, while an angle of attack that is up will be positive. For irons and wedges, you’ll want to hit the ball more, while with a driver you’ll want to hit it.
If you’re just getting started with a release monitor, keep these three numbers in mind. Make different swings and see how the changes affect the numbers. As you get more comfortable with understanding the numbers, you can continue to use the launch monitor and focus on other data points to understand your movement even better.
